Automotive frame suspension



May 18, 1954 A. clGAN ET AL 2,678,830

AUTOMOTIVE FRAME SUSPENSION Filed Feb. s, 195o 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l INVENTORS ANDREW CIGAN WILLIAM DUTY Tram/fr A. CIGAN El' AL AUTOMOTIVE FRAME `SUSPENSION May 18, 1954 Filed Feb. s, 195o ."NVENTORS ANDREW CIGAN BY WILLIAM DUTY May 18, 1954 A. CIGAN ETAL 2,678,830

` k v AUTOMOTIVE FRAME SUSPENSION Filed Feb. 3, 1950 4 Shee'c,s-Sheet 5V 1N VEN T ORS ANDREW CIGAN BY 'WILLIAM DUTY May 18, 1954 A. CIGAN r-:TAL 2,678,830

AUTOMOTIVE FRAME SUSPENSION Filed Feb. 3, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS ANDREW CIGAN BY WILLIAM DUTY MMM Patented May 18, 1954 AUTOMOTIVE FRAME SUSPENSION Andrew Cigan, West Allis, and William Duty, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application February 3, 1950, Serial No. 142,152

4 Claims. (Cl. 280-124) Our invention relates to improvements in wheel suspension, for automobile chassis or the like.

The object of our invention is to provide a means for suspending the chassis of an automobile or the like hydraulically, in combination 'with resilient supports.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device that will maintain an even pivoted relation of the frame and the wheels of the vehicle, While the vehicle wheels strike an obstruction or depression in the road.

It is manifest to anyone familiar with the art of driving an automotive vehicle on highways, whether these highways be provided with a smooth or uneven surface, that the momentum and speed of the vehicle will cause the wheels to receive an end thrust or pressure at the point contacting the pavement, and it is the object of our invention to provide a wheel and chassis suspension that will, at all times, permit the wheels and body to assume proper alignment and movement in synchronized relation to one another.

Other and further objects of our invention will become more apparent as the description n proceeds when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view of the end of a front cross member of an automobile frame, showing the Wheel suspension with the tire in cross-section and the wheel in a normal vertical position.

Figure 2 is a similar view as shown in Figure 1, with the Wheel in an angular position as when rounding a curve.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View of the vertical hydraulic cylinder and piston arrangement in a neutral position taken at the line 3--3 in Figure 4, as when the wheel is vertically disposed as shown in Figure l.

Figure 4 is a top View of the wheel mounting on both sides of the front member of the frame.

Figure 5 is an enlarged view showing the horizontal cylinder with the pistons disposed in a neutral position.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic View of the hydraulic system fed by a pump drawing the supply from a reservoir.

Figure 7 is a rear Wheel mounting incorporating a universal drive on the rear drive shaft showing the component features incorporated in the front mounting.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 8-8 in Figure 5, and

Figure 9 is an enlarged view of the cylinder *construction as shown in Figure 5.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views and referring now to the same, the character I0 shows a front frame end member of an auto mobile; this member forms the front portion of the frame which has longitudinally disposed frame channels to support the body of the vehicle.

The ends of the frame member Il), support vertically disposed cylinders II, attached at I2 to the member I0, and encasing vertically actuated pistons I3 supplied with piston rings of conventional design, and supported by vertical supported piston rods I4 and I4', shown journaled at I5 and I5 in stuing nuts disposed within the top and bottom of the cylinder. Each cylinder wall is provided with a single semiradial groove I surrounding its inner surface, and each piston I3 is equipped with a similar groove I'I surrounding its periphery and provided with a circular opening ring IS disposed therein. This ring IS is obviously of a resilient material. When the .piston i3 is in neutral position, the ring I8 engages both semi-radial grooves I5 and I'I to retain the pistons I3 in a centrally disposed or neutral position.

The upper end of each vertical cylinder II is provided with a sealing cap i9, attached to the cylinder head at 20 to seal the piston rod I4 from the elements. The lower end of the piston rod I4' is equipped with a receptacle plate 2I acting as a support for the upper end of a resilient coil spring 22, which is seated at its lower end on a plate 23 which is hingedly supported at 24 to the frame member IEI.

Attached to the outer periphery of the cylinder II at 25, are shown a pair of projecting members 2t supporting outwardly extending spherical swivel members 2l employed as mountings for the members 28 shown integrally attached to the end of the snubber cylinders 29. The inside wall of the cylinder 29 is provided with a semi-radial groove 30 and the piston slidably engages each of the snubber cylinders 29 and is equipped with conventional piston rings and a semi-radial groove 32 around its outer peripheral surface to receive a ring 33 which is of a resilient nature and provided as is the ring I8 in the cylinder II with an opening 34 so that the ring will normally t into the cylinder groove when in an expanded neutral position and will contract and close the gap or opening 34 when the piston is slidably moved within the cylinders 29 and/or II.

The piston 3i has a piston rod 35 which extends --outward from the snubber cylinder 29 through the stuffing nut 3G on the cylinder end 3l and terminates in a hollow spherical member 38 which engages outwardly extending supports 39 on the upper end of the wheel mounting l which forms a support for the axle (not shown) to which the wheel il is rotatably mounted. Obviously the steering mechanism (not shown) on the front end of the vehicle would be attached to the supports fill.

The cylinders ll are provided with outlets 42 and 42' which are equipped with tubular members 43 and 43 respectively, while the cylinders 29 are provided with similar outlets td and fili equipped with tubular members d and 65 respectively which branch off at A and B respectively as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6. Obviously the tubular members are all of a ilexible material to permit movement during the operation of the pistons within the cylinders.

The lower end of the wheel mounting it is equipped with member fili which hingedly supports the plate 3 at il by means of a universal joint or in any other eflicient manner.

In Figure 7, we show a similar suspension for the rear end of the chassis in which the frame end i9 is supported by the spring 22 resting on a horizontal plate e8 shown forming an integral part of the rear axle housing lis which housing is provided with a spherical member 50 engaging a hollow member 5i forming a part of the wheel support 52. The member 5@ incases a universal drive attached to the rear drive shalt in the case of this rear suspension, as illustrated in Figure 7, and the snubber cylinders 29 are mounted one above the other and are supported by spherical members 53 shown integrally constructed with the hollow member 5S for engagement with the member 28 and spherical members 5d shown integrally constructed with the wheel mounting 52 are arranged for engagement with the member 3S.

The schematic diagrammatic layout shown in Figure 6 illustrates the operation of the entire suspension which is hydraulically supplied from fluid disposed within a reservoir 55 which reservoir is provided with a filler opening 55 at its top and a pump 5l' at its bottom. The system is shown incorporating a manually or mechanically controlled selector valve 53 and a pair of fluid flow equalizers When the piston 3l in the snubber cylinder 2s moves in the direction indicated by the arrows, the iuid will enter the cylinder 2d by tubes lil at one side and be exhausted by the tube vhereas the other side of the system it will enter by the tube 55' and be exhausted by the tube t5, thereby providing a synchronized movement of the wheels in their angular relation to one another and to the horizontal frame support or axle and when the pistons E3 are moved vertically within the cylinders l l, the hydraulic liquid will be forced out of the port 43 of one cylinder into the port :t3 of the other cylinder on a downward stroke and the reverse .flow will be made possible on the upward stroke.

It therefore becomes manl est that the movement of one wheel in a vertical plane will produce the same movement in the opposite wheel thereby compensating the movement of the body of the vehicle mounted unto the frame when obstructions and depressions in the road are encountei-ed.

In operation the iiuid in the vertical cylinders I I, cushion the suspension ofthe frameinasmuch as when the spring .22 on one side is compressed, and the pistoni@ is forced upward, `the ud on top of the piston in that cylinder is forced to the opposite cylinder Il below the piston i3 disposed therein. This same ow of fluid, but reversed, is true when the opposite spring 22 is compressed. The compression of the spring 22 is caused by either the raising of the wheel, or the vertical angular movement or slant of the wheel as shown in Fig. 2, due to the pivoted movement of the plate 23. When the wheels are turned by the steering mechanism, the pistons Si within the snubber cylinders 29 function in like manner, namely the fluid ahead of the piston in one cylinder isforced behind the piston in the oppositely disposed cylinder in a synchronized manner. Obviously, the iluid is passed from one cylinder to the other by means of the pliable tubes as shown in the arrangement outlined in Fig. 6.

In the chosen embodiments of our invention there are many features not heretofore disclosed in the prior art and although we have specifically disclosed and described a particular arrangement of the component parts constituting the device, We are fully cognizant of the fact that there are many changes possible in their arrangement without departing from the spirit oi our invention or the scope of the appended claims,

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the United tates is:

l. A vehicle suspension of the character described comprising, a horizontal frame member, oppositely disposed axle supports adjacent each end of said frame member, an auxiliary axle projecting outward from each of said axle supports, a wheel rotatably mounted unto each of said auxiliary axles, a Vertical cylinder mounted on each end of said frame member, a piston slideably mounted within each of said vertical cylinders, each of said pistons being provided with a piston rod extending respectively outward from each face of each of said pistons and slideably mounted within the upper and lower walls of the corresponding vertical cylinder, said axle supports provided with upper and lower pivot members, a horizontal plate for each of said axle supports, each of said plates hingedly supported at one end to said frame member and at the other end to th-e lower pivot member on a corresponding one of said axle supports, resilient means mounted on said plates at their upper face near the center thereof, adaptors secured to the lower end oi' each piston rod extending outward from and mounted on the lower wall oi' each of said vertical cylinders, said yadaptors arranged for engagement with the upper end oi said resilient means, said vertical cylinder walls provided with ports near the upper and lower end thereof, tubular members connecting the lower port of each of said cylinders respectively to the upper port in the oppositely disposed cylinder, a plurality of snubber cylinders, a plurality of snubber pistons corresponding in number to said snubber cylinders and slideably mounted therein, each of said snubber pistons provided with a rod extending outward from one end of each of the respective snubber cylinders, a plurality of projecting members attached to the outer wall of each or" .said vertical cylinders, one end or" each of said snubber cylinders hingedly supported by a corresponding one of said projecting members, the outwardly extending end of each snubber piston rod hingedly attached to the upper pivot members of the corresponding one of said .axle supports, each of said snubber cylinders provided with ports near each of their ends, other tubular members connecting the corresponding ports of said snubber cylinders and a uid reservoir provided with a pump, tubular means leading to the vertical and snubber cylinders, said pump connected with said tubular means, said tubular means supplied with a selector valve for controlling the fluid disposed therein.

2. A vehicle frame suspension comprising in combination, a horizontal frame member, oppositely disposed axle supports adjacent each end of said frame member, an auxiliary axle projecting outward from each of said supports, wheels rotatably mounted on said auxiliary axle, a vertical cylinder mounted unto each of the opposite ends of said frame members, a piston mounted on a piston rod slideably mounted within each of said vertical cylinders, said rods extending respectively outward from the top and bottom wall of each of said corresponding cylinders, said axle supports provided with upper and lower pivoting engaging members, a horizontal plate for each of said axle supports, each of said plates disposed below said vertical cylinders, said plate hingedly supported at one end to said frame members and at the other end to the lower pivot member of a corresponding one of said axle supports, resilient means mounted on said plates at their upper face near the center thereof, the lower end of the piston rod extending outward from and mounted on the lower wall of each of said vertical cylinders provided with adaptors, said adaptors secured to the lower end of the piston rod adjacent the upper end of said resilient means, ports disposed through the Vertical cylinder walls near their upper and lower ends, tubular means connecting the upper ports in each of said cylinders to the lower ports in the oppositely disposed cylinder, a plurality of snubber cylinders, a piston slideably mounted within each of said snubber cylinders, piston rods extending outward from said pistons through the one end of each of the respective snubber cylinders, a plurality of projecting members acting as a means for hingedly attaching one end of each of said snubber cylinders to the other wall of each of said vertical cylinders, the outwardly extending end of each snubber piston rod hingedly attached to the upper pivot members of the corresponding one of said axle supports, ports disposed within the snubber cylinder walls near their opposite ends, other tubular members connecting said ports within said snubber cylinders and a fluid reservoir provided with a control valve and a pump, said valve connected with a, pliable tubular means connecting said vertical cylinder and snubber cylinder.

3. A vehicle suspension of the character described comprising, a horizontal frame member,

a horizontally disposed axle supporting member adjacent said frame member, an axle adjacent each end of Said support member and projecting outward therefrom and pivotally secured thereto, a wheel rotatably mounted on each axle, a vertical cylinder mounted on each end of said frame member, a piston slideably mounted within each of said vertical cylinders, a piston rod secured to each of said pistons, each of said rods extending outward from the top and bottom wall of each of said cylinders, said axle supporting member provided with upper and lower pivot engaging members, resilient means mounted to said axle at its upper face, an adaptor attached to the lower end of each of said piston rods extending outward from the bottom wall of each of said vertical cylinders, said adaptors secured to the lower end of the piston rod adjacent the upper end of said resilient means, said vertical cylinder walls provided with ports near their upper and lower ends, tubular members connecting the lower port of each of said cylinders to the upper port of the oppositely disposed cylinder, a plurality of snubber cylinders associated with each end of said supporting member, a plurality of snubber pistons corresponding in number to said snubber cylinders slideably mounted therein, each of said snubber pistons provided with rods extending outward from the one end of each of said snubber cylinders, one end of each snubber cylinder hingedly attach-ed to the corresponding pivot engaging means of said axle supporting member, the outwardly extending end of each snubber piston rod hingedly attached to the corresponding axle, each of said snubber cylinders provided with ports near their ends, tubular members connecting said ports within each of said cylinders, and a fluid reservoir provided with a pump and a selector valve, said valve connected with pliable tubular means, other tubular means connecting the vertical cylinders and snubber cylinders and communicating with said pliable tubular means.

4. A device as described in claim 3, in which all pistons are provided with recess grooves on their outer peripheral surface and all cylinders are provided with recessed grooves around their inner surface, said pistons provided with resilient annular split rings for engagement with said grooves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,184,202 Tschanz Dee. 19, 1939 2,279,120 Hurley Apr. 7, 1942 2,387,249 Eddington Oct. 23, 1945 

